class

A class is a collection of variables and functions working with these variables. A class is defined using the following syntax:

<?php
class Cart
{
    var $items;  // Items in our shopping cart

    // Add $num articles of $artnr to the cart

    function add_item ($artnr, $num)
    {
        $this->items[$artnr] += $num;
    }

    // Take $num articles of $artnr out of the cart

    function remove_item ($artnr, $num)
    {
        if ($this->items[$artnr] > $num) {
            $this->items[$artnr] -= $num;
            return true;
        } else {
            return false;
        }
    }
}
?>

This defines a class named Cart that consists of an associative array of articles in the cart and two functions to add and remove items from this cart.

Предостережение

The following cautionary notes are valid for PHP 4.

The name stdClass is used interally by Zend and is reserved. You cannot have a class named stdClass in PHP.

The function names __sleep and __wakeup are magical in PHP classes. You cannot have functions with these names in any of your classes unless you want the magic functionality associated with them. See below for more information.

PHP reserves all function names starting with __ as magical. It is recommended that you do not use function names with __ in PHP unless you want some documented magic functionality.

Замечание: In PHP 4, only constant initializers for var variables are allowed. To initialize variables with non-constant values, you need an initialization function which is called automatically when an object is being constructed from the class. Such a function is called a constructor (see below).

<?php
/* None of these will work in PHP 4. */
class Cart
{
    var $todays_date = date("Y-m-d");
    var $name = $firstname;
    var $owner = 'Fred ' . 'Jones';
    var $items = array("VCR", "TV");
}

/* This is how it should be done. */
class Cart
{
    var $todays_date;
    var $name;
    var $owner;
    var $items;

    function Cart()
    {
        $this->todays_date = date("Y-m-d");
        $this->name = $GLOBALS['firstname'];
        /* etc. . . */
    }
}
?>

Classes are types, that is, they are blueprints for actual variables. You have to create a variable of the desired type with the new operator.

<?php
$cart = new Cart;
$cart->add_item("10", 1);

$another_cart = new Cart;
$another_cart->add_item("0815", 3);

This creates the objects $cart and $another_cart, both of the class Cart. The function add_item() of the $cart object is being called to add 1 item of article number 10 to the $cart. 3 items of article number 0815 are being added to $another_cart.

Both, $cart and $another_cart, have functions add_item(), remove_item() and a variable items. These are distinct functions and variables. You can think of the objects as something similar to directories in a filesystem. In a filesystem you can have two different files README.TXT, as long as they are in different directories. Just like with directories where you'll have to type the full pathname in order to reach each file from the toplevel directory, you have to specify the complete name of the function you want to call: In PHP terms, the toplevel directory would be the global namespace, and the pathname separator would be ->. Thus, the names $cart->items and $another_cart->items name two different variables. Note that the variable is named $cart->items, not $cart->$items, that is, a variable name in PHP has only a single dollar sign.

// correct, single $
$cart->items = array("10" => 1);

// invalid, because $cart->$items becomes $cart->""
$cart->$items = array("10" => 1);

// correct, but may or may not be what was intended:
// $cart->$myvar becomes $cart->items
$myvar = 'items';
$cart->$myvar = array("10" => 1);

Within a class definition, you do not know under which name the object will be accessible in your program: at the time the Cart class was written, it was unknown that the object will be named $cart or $another_cart later. Thus, you cannot write $cart->items within the Cart class itself. Instead, in order to be able to access it's own functions and variables from within a class, one can use the pseudo-variable $this which can be read as 'my own' or 'current object'. Thus, '$this->items[$artnr] += $num' can be read as 'add $num to the $artnr counter of my own items array' or 'add $num to the $artnr counter of the items array within the current object'.

Замечание: There are some nice functions to handle classes and objects. You might want to take a look at the Class/Object Functions

extends

Often you need classes with similar variables and functions to another existing class. In fact, it is good practice to define a generic class which can be used in all your projects and adapt this class for the needs of each of your specific projects. To facilitate this, classes can be extensions of other classes. The extended or derived class has all variables and functions of the base class (this is called 'inheritance' despite the fact that nobody died) and what you add in the extended definition. It is not possible to substract from a class, that is, to undefine any existing functions or variables. An extended class is always dependent on a single base class, that is, multiple inheritance is not supported. Classes are extended using the keyword 'extends'.

class Named_Cart extends Cart
{
    var $owner;

    function set_owner ($name)
    {
        $this->owner = $name;
    }
}

This defines a class Named_Cart that has all variables and functions of Cart plus an additional variable $owner and an additional function set_owner(). You create a named cart the usual way and can now set and get the carts owner. You can still use normal cart functions on named carts:

$ncart = new Named_Cart;    // Create a named cart
$ncart->set_owner("kris");  // Name that cart
print $ncart->owner;        // print the cart owners name
$ncart->add_item("10", 1);  // (inherited functionality from cart)

This is also called a "parent-child" relationship. You create a class, parent, and use extends to create a new class based on the parent class: the child class. You can even use this new child class and create another class based on this child class.

Замечание: Classes must be defined before they are used! If you want the class Named_Cart to extend the class Cart, you will have to define the class Cart first. If you want to create another class called Yellow_named_cart based on the class Named_Cart you have to define Named_Cart first. To make it short: the order in which the classes are defined is important.

Constructors

Предостережение

In PHP 3 and PHP 4 constructors behave differently. The PHP 4 semantics are strongly preferred.

Constructors are functions in a class that are automatically called when you create a new instance of a class with new. In PHP 3, a function becomes a constructor when it has the same name as the class. In PHP 4, a function becomes a constructor, when it has the same name as the class it is defined in - the difference is subtle, but crucial (see below).

// Works in PHP 3 and PHP 4.
class Auto_Cart extends Cart
{
    function Auto_Cart()
    {
        $this->add_item ("10", 1);
    }
}

This defines a class Auto_Cart that is a Cart plus a constructor which initializes the cart with one item of article number "10" each time a new Auto_Cart is being made with "new". Constructors can take arguments and these arguments can be optional, which makes them much more useful. To be able to still use the class without parameters, all parameters to constructors should be made optional by providing default values.

// Works in PHP 3 and PHP 4.
class Constructor_Cart extends Cart
{
    function Constructor_Cart($item = "10", $num = 1)
    {
        $this->add_item ($item, $num);
    }
}

// Shop the same old boring stuff.

$default_cart = new Constructor_Cart;

// Shop for real...

$different_cart = new Constructor_Cart("20", 17);

You also can use the @ operator to mute errors occuring in the constructor, e.g. @new.

Предостережение

In PHP 3, derived classes and constructors have a number of limitations. The following examples should be read carefully to understand these limitations.

class A
{
    function A()
    {
      echo "I am the constructor of A.<br>\n";
    }
}

class B extends A
{
    function C()
    {
        echo "I am a regular function.<br>\n";
    }
}

// no constructor is being called in PHP 3.
$b = new B;

In PHP 3, no constructor is being called in the above example. The rule in PHP 3 is: 'A constructor is a function of the same name as the class.'. The name of the class is B, and there is no function called B() in class B. Nothing happens.

This is fixed in PHP 4 by introducing another rule: If a class has no constructor, the constructor of the base class is being called, if it exists. The above example would have printed 'I am the constructor of A.<br>' in PHP 4.

class A
{
    function A()
    {
        echo "I am the constructor of A.<br>\n";
    }

    function B()
    {
        echo "I am a regular function named B in class A.<br>\n";
        echo "I am not a constructor in A.<br>\n";
    }
}

class B extends A
{
    function C()
    {
        echo "I am a regular function.<br>\n";
    }
}

// This will call B() as a constructor.
$b = new B;

In PHP 3, the function B() in class A will suddenly become a constructor in class B, although it was never intended to be. The rule in PHP 3 is: 'A constructor is a function of the same name as the class.'. PHP 3 does not care if the function is being defined in class B, or if it has been inherited.

This is fixed in PHP 4 by modifying the rule to: 'A constructor is a function of the same name as the class it is being defined in.'. Thus in PHP 4, the class B would have no constructor function of its own and the constructor of the base class would have been called, printing 'I am the constructor of A.<br>'.

Предостережение

Neither PHP 3 nor PHP 4 call constructors of the base class automatically from a constructor of a derived class. It is your responsibility to propagate the call to constructors upstream where appropriate.

Замечание: There are no destructors in PHP 3 or PHP 4. You may use register_shutdown_function() instead to simulate most effects of destructors.

Destructors are functions that are called automatically when an object is destroyed, either with unset() or by simply going out of scope. There are no destructors in PHP.

::

Предостережение

The following is valid for PHP 4 only.

Sometimes it is useful to refer to functions and variables in base classes or to refer to functions in classes that have not yet any instances. The :: operator is being used for this.

class A
{
    function example()
    {
        echo "I am the original function A::example().<br>\n";
    }
}

class B extends A
{
    function example()
    {
        echo "I am the redefined function B::example().<br>\n";
        A::example();
    }
}

// there is no object of class A.
// this will print
//   I am the original function A::example().<br>
A::example();

// create an object of class B.
$b = new B;

// this will print
//   I am the redefined function B::example().<br>
//   I am the original function A::example().<br>
$b->example();

The above example calls the function example() in class A, but there is no object of class A, so that we cannot write $a->example() or similar. Instead we call example() as a 'class function', that is, as a function of the class itself, not any object of that class.

There are class functions, but there are no class variables. In fact, there is no object at all at the time of the call. Thus, a class function may not use any object variables (but it can use local and global variables), and it may no use $this at all.

In the above example, class B redefines the function example(). The original definition in class A is shadowed and no longer available, unless you are refering specifically to the implementation of example() in class A using the ::-operator. Write A::example() to do this (in fact, you should be writing parent::example(), as shown in the next section).

In this context, there is a current object and it may have object variables. Thus, when used from WITHIN an object function, you may use $this and object variables.

parent

You may find yourself writing code that refers to variables and functions in base classes. This is particularly true if your derived class is a refinement or specialisation of code in your base class.

Instead of using the literal name of the base class in your code, you should be using the special name parent, which refers to the name of your base class as given in the extends declaration of your class. By doing this, you avoid using the name of your base class in more than one place. Should your inheritance tree change during implementation, the change is easily made by simply changing the extends declaration of your class.

class A
{
    function example()
    {
        echo "I am A::example() and provide basic functionality.<br>\n";
    }
}

class B extends A
{
    function example()
    {
        echo "I am B::example() and provide additional functionality.<br>\n";
        parent::example();
    }
}

$b = new B;

// This will call B::example(), which will in turn call A::example().
$b->example();

Serializing objects - objects in sessions

Замечание: In PHP 3, objects will lose their class association throughout the process of serialization and unserialization. The resulting variable is of type object, but has no class and no methods, thus it is pretty useless (it has become just like an array with a funny syntax).

Предостережение

The following information is valid for PHP 4 only.

serialize() returns a string containing a byte-stream representation of any value that can be stored in PHP. unserialize() can use this string to recreate the original variable values. Using serialize to save an object will save all variables in an object. The functions in an object will not be saved, only the name of the class.

In order to be able to unserialize() an object, the class of that object needs to be defined. That is, if you have an object $a of class A on page1.php and serialize this, you'll get a string that refers to class A and contains all values of variabled contained in $a. If you want to be able to unserialize this on page2.php, recreating $a of class A, the definition of class A must be present in page2.php. This can be done for example by storing the class defintion of class A in an include file and including this file in both page1.php and page2.php.

classa.inc:
  class A
  {
      var $one = 1;

      function show_one()
      {
          echo $this->one;
      }
  }

page1.php:
  include("classa.inc");

  $a = new A;
  $s = serialize($a);
  // store $s somewhere where page2.php can find it.
  $fp = fopen("store", "w");
  fputs($fp, $s);
  fclose($fp);

page2.php:
  // this is needed for the unserialize to work properly.
  include("classa.inc");

  $s = implode("", @file("store"));
  $a = unserialize($s);

  // now use the function show_one() of the $a object.
  $a->show_one();

If you are using sessions and use session_register() to register objects, these objects are serialized automatically at the end of each PHP page, and are unserialized automatically on each of the following pages. This basically means that these objects can show up on any of your pages once they become part of your session.

It is strongly recommended that you include the class definitions of all such registered objects on all of your pages, even if you do not actually use these classes on all of your pages. If you don't and an object is being unserialized without its class definition being present, it will lose its class association and become an object of class stdClass without any functions available at all, that is, it will become quite useless.

So if in the example above $a became part of a session by running session_register("a"), you should include the file classa.inc on all of your pages, not only page1.php and page2.php.

The magic functions __sleep and __wakeup

serialize() checks if your class has a function with the magic name __sleep. If so, that function is being run prior to any serialization. It can clean up the object and is supposed to return an array with the names of all variables of that object that should be serialized.

The intended use of __sleep is to close any database connections that object may have, committing pending data or perform similar cleanup tasks. Also, the function is useful if you have very large objects which need not be saved completely.

Conversely, unserialize() checks for the presence of a function with the magic name __wakeup. If present, this function can reconstruct any resources that object may have.

The intended use of __wakeup is to reestablish any database connections that may have been lost during serialization and perform other reinitialization tasks.

References inside the constructor

Creating references within the constructor can lead to confusing results. This tutorial-like section helps you to avoid problems.

class Foo
{
    function Foo($name)
    {
        // create a reference inside the global array $globalref
        global $globalref;
        $globalref[] = &$this;
        // set name to passed value
        $this->setName($name);
        // and put it out
        $this->echoName();
    }

    function echoName()
    {
        echo "<br>",$this->name;
    }

    function setName($name)
    {
        $this->name = $name;
    }
}

Let us check out if there is a difference between $bar1 which has been created using the copy = operator and $bar2 which has been created using the reference =& operator...

$bar1 = new Foo('set in constructor');
$bar1->echoName();
$globalref[0]->echoName();

/* output:
set in constructor
set in constructor
set in constructor */

$bar2 =& new Foo('set in constructor');
$bar2->echoName();
$globalref[1]->echoName();

/* output:
set in constructor
set in constructor
set in constructor */

Apparently there is no difference, but in fact there is a very significant one: $bar1 and $globalref[0] are _NOT_ referenced, they are NOT the same variable. This is because "new" does not return a reference by default, instead it returns a copy.

Замечание: There is no performance loss (since PHP 4 and up use reference counting) returning copies instead of references. On the contrary it is most often better to simply work with copies instead of references, because creating references takes some time where creating copies virtually takes no time (unless none of them is a large array or object and one of them gets changed and the other(s) one(s) subsequently, then it would be wise to use references to change them all concurrently).

To prove what is written above let us watch the code below.

// now we will change the name. what do you expect?
// you could expect that both $bar1 and $globalref[0] change their names...
$bar1->setName('set from outside');

// as mentioned before this is not the case.
$bar1->echoName();
$globalref[0]->echoName();

/* output:
set from outside
set in constructor */

// let us see what is different with $bar2 and $globalref[1]
$bar2->setName('set from outside');

// luckily they are not only equal, they are the same variable
// thus $bar2->name and $globalref[1]->name are the same too
$bar2->echoName();
$globalref[1]->echoName();

/* output:
set from outside
set from outside */

Another final example, try to understand it.

class A
{
    function A($i)
    {
        $this->value = $i;
        // try to figure out why we do not need a reference here
        $this->b = new B($this);
    }

    function createRef()
    {
        $this->c = new B($this);
    }

    function echoValue()
    {
        echo "<br>","class ",get_class($this),': ',$this->value;
    }
}


class B
{
    function B(&$a)
    {
        $this->a = &$a;
    }

    function echoValue()
    {
        echo "<br>","class ",get_class($this),': ',$this->a->value;
    }
}

// try to undestand why using a simple copy here would yield
// in an undesired result in the *-marked line
$a =& new A(10);
$a->createRef();

$a->echoValue();
$a->b->echoValue();
$a->c->echoValue();

$a->value = 11;

$a->echoValue();
$a->b->echoValue(); // *
$a->c->echoValue();

/*
output:
class A: 10
class B: 10
class B: 10
class A: 11
class B: 11
class B: 11
*/